A Savory Change in Plans (a McRoll in the REAL World story)
by sammy1026
Summary: Thanksgiving Day is here and plans hit a little hitch. Part 6 of the second annual REAL World Thanksgiving Marathon.


_Mari & Ilna-I'm so thankful for both of you and the many ways you enrich my life every day._

 _Sandy-I'm thankful to you for always being there._

 _REAL Worlders-I'm thankful for your support and encouragement and the way you've embraced this universe and all its characters, both established and original. You guys are the best._

 **A Savory Change in Plans (1/1)** Part 6 of the second annual REAL World Thanksgiving Marathon.

* * *

 **McGarrett Rollins Home**

 **Thursday (Thanksgiving)**

 **11:00 A.M.**

"It's a good thing we're not having a barbeque today," Jacob said as he watched the rain pour down outside the dining room window.

"That's for sure," Mary agreed. "If we were I think we'd all need snorkel gear."

Grandma Ang and Mary had gathered the younger kids around the dining room table to make decorations for the Thanksgiving table while preparations for the meal were going strong in the kitchen and the men sat in the living room watching football.

They were currently working on small candy turkeys to personalize and use as place cards. In front of them were gumdrops of all sizes and flavors, several boxes of sturdy toothpicks, fruit roll-ups in a rainbow of colors, and mini marshmallows. Grandma Ang, with many years of practice under her belt, was constructing a beautiful, brightly colored example for the others to follow.

"What's snorkel gear?" Jacob asked, his eyebrows knit in confusion.

"You know," Dylan made circles with his hands and held them up to his eyes. "The mask and the breathing tube thing you need when you go looking at fish underwater. Like the people we watched on Discovery Kids the other day."

Jacob thought for a minute then a look of recognition came over his face and he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. "That would be really funny, wouldn't it?"

Mary couldn't help but smile at the young boy's energy and enthusiasm. "It certainly would," she nodded. "I think it's better we're staying inside."

"I think so too. Hey, can I make mine all yellow?" Jacob asked..

Grandma Ang smiled at the quick change of topic. "You can make yours however you want to make it. Be creative."

Mary put a few gumdrops in front of Joanie who promptly stuffed them in her mouth." I should have seen that coming," she said as Grandma Ang laughed.

"Nummy," Joan giggled.

"I know, but we're making turkeys with these, Peanut, not eating them," Mary said as she slid the gumdrops out of Joan's reach.

"I learned a Thanksgiving song at school," Jacob said as he reached for more yellow gumdrops. "Wanna hear?"

"You bet I do," Grandma Ang said as she stopped what she was doing and gave Jacob her full attention.

He cleared his throat and began to sing.

 _When I wake up in the morning and I breathe in the air_

 _I'm thankful, I'm thankful_

 _When someone gives me a hug and shows that me they care, hug, hug_

 _I'm thankful, I'm thankful_

Kaitlyn's eyes lit up. "I learned that when I was in Jacob's grade." .

"Me too," Dylan nodded.

They both joined in for the next verse.

 _When I look all around at the colors I see - round and round_

 _I'm thankful, I'm thankful_

 _When I wake up in the morning, when someone gives me a hug, hug, hug_

 _When I look all around ? round and round, I'm thankful today_

Joan's squeals of delight brought Casey and Grace in from the kitchen where they'd been helping chop vegetables.

"Sounds like you guys are having a party in here," Grace teased as the song moved on to the next verse, louder and more off-key than ever.

By the time they were through everyone had made their way into the dining room to watch the performance. As the song wound up they all clapped enthusiastically. Dylan seemed unphased by all the attention, Kaitlyn blushed and slid closer to Grandma Ang and Jacob stood up on the dining room chair and bowed. "Thank you all very much," he said as he plopped back down in his seat and went back to work.

"My budding performer," Jenna smiled affectionately.

"He's a natural," Catherine agreed as she leaned into Steve's side and squeezed his hand. Having so many people around for Thanksgiving, seeing them all enjoying each other's company, the house filled with laughter and stories … it made her happier than she could put into words.

And she really didn't need to. Because Steve understood exactly what she was thinking.

"Me too," he whispered in her ear then kissed her temple.

From their spot in the doorway to the kitchen Elizabeth and Joseph shared a soft smile.

"What are you making there, Jacob," Aaron asked as he watched the young boy grab another toothpick and skewer several yellow gumdrops.

"It's a turkey," Jacob answered matter-of-factly. "See here's the body," he pointed to the largest gumdrop, "and these are the feathers."

"I can see it's a turkey," Aaron chuckled, "But why is it all yellow?"

Jacob thrust both hands in the air. "It's a minion turkey!"

"Jacob is quite a fan of the minions," Jenna laughed.

"That's an understatement," Casey laughed and Grace joined in. "Jacob _loves_ the minions."

"He certainly does," Steve and Catherine agreed. One look in his eyes and Catherine knew he was thinking of the same thing she was.

The minion drawing they'd found on their bed the night they got home after the Sinclair ordeal.

"Cody, will you help me make overalls for my turkey out of fruit roll-ups? Pleeeeease." Jacob's hopeful eyes were impossible to say no to.

"Sure," he said as he took the seat next to his brother. "What color do you want?"

"Cody!" Jacob said emphatically, "They have to be blue."

"Of course they do." Cody chuckled reached for a blue roll-up.

"Can we help too," Grace asked.

"You don't even need to ask, Angel," Grandma Ang beamed. "Of course you can help. Just take a seat and grab some gumdrops."

"I'm gonna make a purple one for you, Auntie Cath," Grace grinned. "Because we all know that's Uncle Steve's favorite color on you."

"Well then make Aunt Elizabeth's green," Joseph smiled.

Simultaneously Steve and Catherine remembered the emerald green pajamas Elizabeth wore to breakfast and their eyes widened.

"Well you better make them quick before Joan eats all the gumdrops," Mary snorted.

"Hey, Pumpkin, watch this," Aaron said as he tossed a gumdrop in the air and caught it in his mouth.

Joan clapped and bounced in her seat. "Aa-won!"

"I can do that too," Cody said as he tossed a yellow candy in the air then caught it effortlessly in his mouth.

"Cody's went higher," Dylan said excitedly.

"Oh really," Aaron said as his competitive juices kicked in. He tried again, this time sending the gumdrop almost to the ceiling.

"I wanna try," Grace said as she tossed one of the sugar coated treats in the air. She turned her face skyward but the candy bounced softly off her cheek before thudding to the floor.

"Almost," Danny said encouragingly.

"Can you do it?" Grace asked her father.

Danny tossed a gumdrop then stood expectantly with his mouth open as the sweet candy landed two feet away.

"Nice try," Steve snorted. "Were you supposed to catch that or did you want me to?"

"I suppose you can do better," Danny challenged.

Steve pinned him with a look then tossed a gumdrop in the air, waiting until the last second to look up and catch it. "All it takes is hand eye coordination."

The air was filled with flying gumdrops as everyone began trying to complete the trick. Most of the kids eventually managed to catch at least one but Jacob's gumdrops continued to hit him in the eye, the cheek, the chin … everywhere but the mouth.

"I can't get it," he huffed. "It's like the gumdrops don't wanna go in my mouth."

"Here," Cody said, "Let me help you. You open your mouth and I'll drop the candy in."

"Ok," Jacob agreed excitedly as he tilted his head back, eyes closed, mouth wide open, and waited.

"Ok, be careful, I don't wanna choke you," Cody said as he stood up. "Make sure you're ready. 3 … 2 … 1." He dropped the gumdrop effortlessly into his brother's mouth.

"We did it!" Jacob said triumphantly when he tasted the sweetness. "We make a good team, Cody! Don't we?"

"We sure do." Cody ruffled Jacob's hair affectionately.

"I'll grab a broom so we can clean up the gumdrops before they get stepped on," Elizabeth offered.

"I don't think that's gonna be necessary," Catherine grinned as she pointed to Scout and Cammie who were happily cleaning up any candy that hit the floor.

"Cammie and Scout are eating gumdrops," Kaitlyn laughed.

"They sure are," Danny agreed.

"Are they allowed to have those?" Dylan asked seriously. "They won't get sick will they?"

"They'll be fine," Steve assured him. "Just this once."

"It's a holiday for them too," Grace said. "That's their treat."

"They can have the gumdrops," Danny nodded. "I'll hold out for pumpkin pie."

Suddenly every light in the house went off, the tv fell silent and the appliances whirred to a stop.

"Oh no," Jenna said.

"That can't be good," Catherine sighed.

* * *

 **12:15 P.M.**

"I just got off the phone with power company," Steve said as he reentered the dining room. "Looks like this whole end of the island is out. Some kind of transformer failure. It's gonna be tough to fix in this storm so it might be a while."

"Well, luckily the turkey hadn't gone in the oven yet so it's still in the fridge," Catherine said, slipping seamlessly into planning mode. "We'll leave the kitchen refrigerator closed to conserve the cold as long as possible."

"Good idea. Let's gather everything else that needs to go back in the fridge and I'll take it out to the garage and put in in that one," Steve said. "The burners on the stove will still work if we light them manually so if there's anything that absolutely has to be cooked to avoid spoiling we can do it. I'll grab some ice and fill coolers and we should be okay until the lights come back on."

"We should be ok except for one thing," Catherine looked at him anxiously. "If the power doesn't come back on for hours what are we gonna feed everyone?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 **1:20 P.M.**

"I was thinking," Cody said as he approached Steve, Catherine and Jenna in the kitchen after calls to every takeout place on the island confirmed they were either closed for the holiday or without power themselves, "Maybe I could call Mr. Ko and ask if he could let us into the store to get a few things. He lives close by and he told me he always goes by a couple of times on days we're closed to check on things anyway."

"That's not a bad idea," Steve said. "I mean I hate to bother him on a holiday but if he's planning on stopping in to check anyway … " his voice trailed off.

Catherine shook her head. "At this point it may be our only option," she said and Jenna nodded in agreement.

"Do you want me to call or do you want to?" Steve asked.

"I can." Cody pulled out his phone and took a few steps away just as Joseph and Elizabeth entered the kitchen.

"Any luck," Elizabeth asked.

"Not finding an open takeout," Catherine said. "But Cody had an idea that might work. Keep your fingers crossed."

Five minutes later, after Catherine filled her parents in on the idea, Cody turned back towards them with a smile. "Mr. Ko said he was planning on stopping by the store in about half an hour. He said we're welcome to come by and get whatever we need."

"Perfect," Steve clapped his hands together. "You're a lifesaver, Cody. Or at least a dinner saver," he grinned. "But in this weather if we need to be there in half an hour we better leave now."

They made their way back to the living room where Grandma Ang was teaching Mary and several of the kids to play Rummikub, Aaron was reading to Joan and the rest of the crew was involved in a lively game of Monopoly.

"Cody came up with a solution to our dinner dilemma," Steve said proudly. "We're gonna head to Foodland, meet Jirou, and pick up a few things we don't need the oven for."

"Catherine, honey," Joseph said. "Why don't you stay here in case anyone needs anything and I'll ride along with Steve and Cody."

"Ok," she nodded at her mother and Jenna. "We'll get things ready on this end."

"And we'll stay here," Danny indicated Aaron who was sitting beside him, "and protect the women and children."

Catherine pinned him with a glare.

"Help Catherine protect the women and children," he gulped.

Elizabeth's glare matched her daughter's.

"You know what … I'm not gonna stick my foot any further in my mouth," Danny said sheepishly.

"We'll stay here," Aaron jumped in, "And try to be of any help we can."

"Suck up," Danny grumbled.

"Be careful out there," Catherine said as she gave Steve a quick kiss. "The roads may be starting to flood."

Elizabeth gave the same admonition to Joseph and Jenna to Cody then the three men headed out into the storm.

* * *

 **Jirou Ko's Foodland**

 **1:50 P.M.**

Thirty minutes later they pulled into the parking lot at Foodland at the same time as Jirou Ko. The four men made a dash for the safety of the store's overhang as Jirou fished the keys out his pocket and unlocked the door.

"We really appreciate this," Steve said. On the way over they'd decided that flatbread pizzas and snacks that didn't need refrigerated would be the best way to go. Steve's plan was to light the grill, which ran on propane and was luckily protected by a small roof, and grill the pizzas there. They planned to get an assortment of toppings along with the flatbreads, sauce and cheese and let everyone make their own exactly the way they like it.

"No problem," Jirou waved him off. "I'm just glad Cody thought to call."

"We are too," Joseph said.

"Luckily we have generators in place for emergencies like this," Jirou said. "I'm going to check the temperatures in all the freezers and coolers. That's where I'll be if you need me."

"Thanks! We'll be quick," Steve responded. "We don't wanna hold you up."

Joseph headed to the snack aisle to grab some chips, pretzels and assorted other snacks including some crackers and soft cookies he knew Joan would like and be able to eat. Steve made his way to the bakery where he was happy to see several packages of Jirou's homemade flatbreads still on the shelf. He grabbed those as well as some donuts for tomorrow's breakfast just in case the lights were still out. Cody darted from aisle to aisle picking up pepperoni, mushrooms, black olives and every pizza topping he could imagine including pineapple which he knew Danny would have something to say about.

Twenty minutes later they were standing at the register. Steve glanced at the products on display near the checkout and smiled as he picked up a box and added it to the pile of groceries.

"Cody," Jirou said, "There's a cake back in the bakery cooler that a customer never came to pick up yesterday. Why don't you go get it and take it for dessert. My treat."

"That's not necessary," Steve said. "I'll be happy to pay … "

"Nonsense," Jirou scoffed. "If you don't take it it will just go to waste."

As Cody disappeared around the corner towards the bakery Jirou turned to Steve. "The cake is the least I can do as a thank you to you for recommending Cody to me. That young man is the hardest worker I have here."

"He's a great kid," Steve agreed proudly. He had no doubt helping Cody get the job was the right thing to do but hearing how well he was doing, how he was flourishing, made Steve's day.

"Smart, motivated, takes initiative when he sees something that needs done," Jirou said. "I wish I had a few more just like him."

"He's got four siblings," Steve grinned.

"Music to my ears," Jirou chuckled as Cody came back around the corner carrying a large sheet cake and grinning.

"What?" Joseph asked.

Cody got closer and held out the cake for them to see.

Both Steve and Joseph began to laugh.

It was completely covered in bright yellow minions.

Steve paid for the groceries after a short back and forth with Joseph who tried to do the same and the men headed for the truck with a final thank you to Jirou as he locked up and set the alarm.

Once the last of the bags was loaded into the backseat Cody took his place next to them. As Joseph and Steve got in the front and closed the doors Cody lifted the cake to his lap. "I better hold this," he said. "I don't want anything to happen to it before Jacob gets a chance to see it."

"I can't wait to see his face," Steve laughed as he put the truck in gear and headed home.

"I was thinking," Cody said, raising his voice slightly to be heard over the sound of the rain pounding off the truck, "I can man the grill if you want or I can help the other kids get their pizzas made. They can be a little messy. And indecisive," he chuckled. "I was thinking maybe I could help so my mom can relax a little. She's been working really hard and it would be nice for her to have a little break."

Joseph turned and looked into the back seat. "You're an impressive young man, Cody. The way you help your mom and look after your siblings. All while you keep your grades up and work a job. I can see why Steve thinks so highly of you."

"Thank you, Sir." Cody looked down at the cake, momentarily overwhelmed as Joseph's words put a lump in his throat. He knew how much Steve respected Catherine's father and for Joseph to say … the fact that he thought … Cody couldn't stop smiling. He looked back at Joseph and gave a grateful nod before catching Steve's eye, and the look of happiness on his face, in the rearview mirror.

'If I was Jacob,' he thought to himself. 'I'd say this was my best day ever.'

He wasn't sure why but he had the overwhelming feeling he'd just won something very important.

* * *

 **McGarrett Rollins Home**

 **2:50 P.M.**

Thirty minutes later they came through the front door and froze at the sight in front of them. A huge blanket fort covered most of the living room. Mary and Aaron were coming down the stairs, their arms loaded with still more sheets and blankets.

Steve laughed. "This is a silly question but I assume Catherine knows you're doing this?"

Mary pointed to the fort and they turned just in time to see Catherine emerging. "I went and got the poles for the volleyball nets to make a little more room. No way this thing is falling down now," she smiled as she scrambled to her feet. "What did you decide on for dinner?"

"Flatbread pizzas," Steve laughed as he crossed to her in a few short strides and kissed her. "We can do them on the grill."

"Sounds good."

Jenna was the next one to exit the fort. She beamed as she stood next to Catherine. "This is something, huh?"

"Indeed," Joseph nodded as he leaned over and looked in the tent flap to see Elizabeth and the younger Allen children arranging pillows.

"I'm gonna tell you though, Jenna," Steve said adamantly. "This rain is unbelievable. There's no way you're gonna be able to make it home tonight. It's just not safe. If we hadn't had the truck we would never have made it to Foodland. You guys are gonna have to stay here."

From within the fort they heard the unmistakable sound of Jacob's excited scream.

"WE'RE HAVING A SLEEPOVER!"

 **THE END**

* * *

Look for part 7 tomorrow!

 _If you are not on the REALMcRoll email list and would like to be, drop us an email at realmcroll at yahoo dot com with "Add me, please!" in the subject line. You'll get updates, contests, and fun McRoller games._

 _Looking for links to all the REAL World McRoll stories in one place? Check out our Tumblr page mcrollintherealworld dot tumblr dot com._

 _In addition, one of our AWESOME REAL Worlders, katydid13, has created a community on here on_ _fanfiction dot net that brings all of the REAL World stories, and all of Mari, Sammy & Ilna's pre-universe stories in one place. You can find it at_ _community/McRoll-in-the-Real-World_


End file.
